A woman accused of the Islamophobic assault of two Muslim women at a shopping centre, and had a prior conviction of assaulting another woman wearing a hijab, has been released on bail.
Suzan Gonulalan, 31, is charged with intentionally and recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault and aggravated assault in relation to her alleged attack on two women wearing hijabs.
The Pascoe Vale woman is alleged to have assaulted a pregnant 30-year-old woman by pulling on her hijab, causing the victim to feel suffocated and breathless, before yelling abuse at her inside an Epping shopping complex in Melbourne's north on Thursday.
She is accused of then attacking 26-year-old Ealaf Al-Easawi about 10 minutes later, slapping her in the face before pushing to the tiled floor.
Police allege she targeted the victims because of their head coverings.
At the time of the incidents, Victoria Police Sergeant Leanne Parfett alleges Gonulalan was also in breach of a family violence order as she was at the shopping centre with her partner despite an intervention order between them since January.
The accused appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday where Magistrate Justin Foster granted her bail.
Mr Foster described the offending as serious given the "alleged racial overtones" of the assaults where two women were wearing hijabs and an earlier assault on another woman in a hijab.
"But I think that the risk can be properly ameliorated to an acceptable level," he said.
The court was told she was on four counts of bail for other charges including car theft, driving while suspended, committing offences on bail, criminal damage and assault and has amassed 130 charges to date.
Gonulalan has previously been convicted of assaulting a woman wearing a hijab, Sgt Parfett told the court.
In 2020, she became abusive towards staff at a medical centre in Dallas in Melbourne's north and was told to leave, bumping into a woman wearing a hijab who was walking into the clinic.
"The accused became abusive towards her before picking up a chair and raising it above her head, attempting to strike the female victim with it," Sgt Parfett said.
Police were called to a train station on January 17 after Gonulalan was accused of making racist remarks to an Asian woman before she was again spoken to by protective services officers the next day for pushing a disembarking train passenger, Sgt Parfett told the court.
Police prosecutors opposed bail citing her extensive criminal history as an unacceptable risk to the community, and telling the court Gonulalan had failed to meet her previous bail reporting conditions, having only reported once.
"There's no conditions that could be put in place that would reduce the risk to an acceptable level," the prosecutor said.
Sgt Parfett said the incident has caused outrage within the Muslim community who now fear for their safety, and could lead to a further escalation of violence.
"It appears the accused has targeted each victim based on their religious backgrounds and appearance," she said.
The defence argued Gonulalan is a vulnerable adult given her previous schizophrenia diagnosis and significant trauma following a car accident.
"There are aspects of her current condition which psychiatric evidence can't be clear if it relates to a potentially undiagnosed, acquired brain injury or her underlying psychotic disorder," the defence said.
Her defence said risks can be mitigated by support services, stringent bail reviews and a ban on her entering the Epping shopping complex.
